Michael Jason Martinez lived for kicking up out-of-bounds powder at A-Basin, Vail and Aspen -- that and robbing banks. Martinez won't be doing much of either for a while, though, since two weeks ago he was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for his role in four Colorado bank robberies in 2007 and 2008 as part of the so-called "Snowboard Bandits" robbery crew.
Martinez's sentence, which also required him to pay $18,795 in restitution, was hefty, notes US Attorney's office spokesperson Jeff Dorschner. Maybe that's because the robberies with which Martinez was charged may have just been the tip of the iceberg. The Snowboard bandits are believed to have hit at least eleven banks up and down the Front Range in late 2007 and early 2008 -- although since they always wore concealing snowboarder gear and masks, it's hard to say who exactly did what.
To read more about the Snowboard Bandits, as well as the colorful FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force that took them down, check out the story, "Denver Snowboard Bandits Lived for Excitement, But the FBI Got the Final Thrill."
